Challenges and opportunities of modeling plasma-surface interactions in tungsten using high-performance computing

The performance of plasma facing components (PFCs) is critical for ITER and future magnetic fusion reactors. The ITER divertor will be tungsten, which is the primary candidate material for future reactors. Recent experiments involving tungsten exposure to low-energy helium plasmas reveal significant surface modification, including the growth of nanometer-scale tendrils of “fuzz” and formation of nanometer-sized bubbles in the near-surface region. The large span of spatial and temporal scales governing plasma surface interactions are among the challenges to modeling divertor performance. Fortunately, recent innovations in computational modeling, increasingly powerful high-performance computers, and improved experimental characterization tools provide a path toward self-consistent, experimentally validated models of PFC and divertor performance. Recent advances in understanding tungsten-helium interactions are reviewed, including such processes as helium clustering, which serve as nuclei for gas bubbles; and trap mutation, dislocation loop punching and bubble bursting; which together initiate surface morphological modification.